The East Hartford Police Department in Connecticut has announced the closure of a 52-year-old cold case with the arrest of a 77-year-old suspect in the 1973 homicide of Janet Couture.
George Legere was arrested on September 24, 2025, authorities said in a statement.
Janet Couture was 21 years old when she was found fatally stabbed in her Cannon Road home on October 13, 1973.
Police said the young woman was home alone when Legere allegedly entered through a window and committed the crime. The case remained under investigation for more than half a century.
Image credits: FOX 61
East Hartford detectives have been re-examining evidence and following leads since 1973. A major breakthrough came in 2021, when the Avon Police Department arrested Legere in connection with a separate 1984 cold case involving the abduction of a woman.
Legere had been an early suspect in Couture’s homicide but was not charged at the time due to insufficient evidence.
After the 2021 arrest, investigators were able to link the 77-year-old to a series of cases dating back to the 1960s that involved Legere assaulting women.
According to the East Hartford Police Department, these cases showed “disturbing similarities” to Couture’s homicide.
Image credits: FOX 61
East Hartford detectives arrested Legere at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, where he is currently serving a 25-year sentence stemming from his 2021 arrest by Avon Police.
Legere had reportedly confessed to fatally stabbing the 21-year-old woman in East Hartford while trying to steal money for illegal substances, as per ABC News.
“I went into the apartment looking for money and unfortunately the person woke up and recognized me and that left me no choice to do what I did,” Legere said, according to police. “I ended up stabbing her.”
The case remained unsolved for over five decades despite Legere being an early suspect
Image credits: East Hartford Police Department
Following his 2021 arrest, Legere reportedly told a fellow prisoner that he had taken Couture’s life and even signed a confession in July that was written by the other inmate, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
He instructed the inmate not to release the confession until after he passed away because he didn’t want people to label him a “creep” or a “pervert,” the warrant said.
The inmate later contacted police about Legere’s confession after new posters were placed in the prison seeking information about Couture’s case.
Image credits: East Hartford Police Department
Following his confession and the similarities between Couture’s homicide and previous cases involving the suspect, Legere was charged with m*rder in connection with the case.
East Hartford Police Chief Mack S. Hawkins stated that bringing closure to victims’ families was “a top priority” for their team.
“We are committed to pursuing justice in every case, no matter how much time has passed. For the Couture family, this is especially significant, and we hope it brings them some measure of peace.”
Janet Couture, 21, was fatally stabbed in her East Hartford home on October 13, 1973, while she was home alone
Image credits: FOX 61
The victim’s sister, 76-year-old Shirlene Couture, said the arrest represented some closure for the family.
“It was just such a shock because it’s been so long, you know, and we’ve always wanted it resolved and to know who did it,” she told ABC News.
“I feel bad because my parents d*ed not knowing. That was my mom’s last wish before she d*ed.”
Shirlene described her sister as a tall woman with a passion for art, designing her own clothes, and baking. At the time of the crime, she was doing office work and some modeling.
Image credits: FOX 61
“She was a good person,” Shirlene said. “You never heard her get mad. She never yelled at anybody. She was very soft spoken. She was very sweet. She was kind. She always helped people. She was just a good person. Anybody that knew her loved her. She didn’t deserve what she got.”
According to Shirlene, her sister and Legere were not close, and Legere often spent time with two other men who lived next door to the victim.
Shirlene told CT Insider that her sister had confided she was “afraid” of Legere, who repeatedly asked her out and often came into her home to use the phone.
A breakthrough came in 2021 when Legere was arrested in Avon for a separate 1984 cold case
Image credits: FOX 61
Image credits: FOX 61
The 77-year-old recently told police he had learned that Janet had recently withdrawn money from an ATM before breaking into her apartment through a window.
Regarding the 1984 case, police said Legere abducted a woman from her apartment complex parking lot, blindfolded her and bound her arms, and drove to an unknown location where he beat and r*ped her. The woman survived the attack.
That case went cold until 2019, when Legere was incarcerated in Massachusetts on an unrelated matter, according to NBC Connecticut. As part of the arrest process, his DNA was collected and later matched to a sample in a national database.
Legere had reportedly confessed to the crime, and investigators found “disturbing similarities” between Couture’s homicide and previous cases
Image credits: FOX 61
Legere attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and has a master’s degree in computer science, a public defender said after his 2021 arrest.
He has a lengthy criminal record dating to the 1960s that includes convictions in more than 30 cases for s*xual assault, k*dnapping, and negligent homicide.
In a statement, the East Hartford Police Department expressed its gratitude to the Connecticut Department of Corrections, the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office, and the State of Connecticut Cold Case Unit for their assistance in the investigation.
“May her soul now rest in peace,” expressed one commenter
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